I used to always give away my artwork to friends and family, and at some point I decided that if I was never going to actually have any of my artwork, I should have a record of it and take a picture. I was then eleven years old and had just been entrusted with my very first camera.

I've been trying to carry this practice over with the jewelry that I create, because there are many custom items or craft fair sales which I will never see again. So I snag a snapshot before sending the jewelry away.

Tonight, while waiting for my YouTube video to upload, I dug around in some old files and found a few memorable pieces that no one but the recipient has yet seen!

This chainmaille project is so beautiful-- a long choker necklace made with the 2-in-2 weave, with silver plated and blue enameled copper. Each ring (as always) was woven individually.

To match it, I made a Byzantine weave bracelet.

And two matching earrings for the set.

Remember how I said that 2013 was the year of the St. Therese beads? This was a custom order for 60, SIXTY, sets of beads. Above is my best friend and my little sister, who helped with detailing the beeswax to make the beads slide better.

I love the Czech glass beads that my customer requested!

Yep. That's a LOT of beads!

This was another set-- I think I made ten-- and the Czech glass is interspersed with Swavroski pearls.

Even more sets-- these jet black beads were for three brothers.

A cool chain bracelet with that bead flower I use in so many designs...

An intricate copper necklace with lots of swirls and fun green leaves...

Here's another chainmaille necklace!

I wish these weren't so expensive to make-- I'd have several in every color in stock if I could!

The metal in chainmaille is just so fluid!

This was a gift; a fun lightweight necklace for a music-loving friend.

This... I don't remember making this or what it was for, but I have pictures by golly! It's supposed to be a headpiece with fun dangling chains.

However, 2013-me also took a picture of it on a lampshade.

2013-me also demonstrated how it could be turned into a statement necklace. Remember when overkill chain necklaces were all the rage?

One of many, many Evenstar sets I made that year.

And this is a Christmas tree ornament! I formed the copper wire, hammered it, and filled it in with beads.

That's it for the custom work of 2013! I have nearly three times as many pictures from the custom work of 2014. Keep an eye out for that blog post in a couple of weeks.

Over my Christmas break, in between visiting with friends and family, I spent a good deal of time in the garage working on jewelry.

Last summer, my dad partitioned off part of the garage into a workspace, and now it's a full-blown studio! AND I GOT A TORCH!!!

I took one jewelry class (Metals 1) that previous spring, and the biggest thing I took away from that class was a focus on craftsmanship and technique with hand-tools and a willingness to just dive in and, you know, play with a 2,000 degree flame.

My Christmas present was money towards a propane+oxygen setup for the Smith Little Torch. Between the torch and all of the necessary supplies and safety items, I wiped out my summer's profits, but hopefully all in the interest of great things to come.

Back in January I filmed this vlog, edited the video, and managed to stick all of the files on the wrong harddrive. Now I've dubbed it-- so feel free to join me in a tour of my amazing studio!